Two Avon Lake Seniors Named Merit Semifinalists

Avon Lake High School National Merit Semifinalists Spencer Gray and Stephen Forest

Avon Lake High School is pleased to announce two seniors have been named as National Merit Semifinalists from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. They are among 16,000 students across the country who took the PSAT in their junior year and earned scores high enough to qualify as Semifinalists. These students will move on to compete for approximately 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $34 million.

Stephen Forest, 16 – Parents: John and Sheryl

• Hobbies/activities: Math, reading, programming
• Potential college major: Chemical Engineering and Mathematics
• College(s) of interest: The Ohio State University, University of Michigan
• Forest also earned a Perfect 36 score on the ACT last school year.

Spencer Gray, 16 – Parents: Gary and Amy Gray

• Hobbies/activities: Tennis, playing the trumpet, collecting books and coins
• Potential college major: Statistics (Sports Analyst)
• College(s) of interest: Harvard University, Ohio University, The Ohio State University

Less than 1 percent of high school seniors make it to the semifinal round. About 90 percent of semifinalists are expected to move on to become National Merit Finalists, which should be announced in February. About half of all finalists are awarded National Merit Scholarships. To become finalists, the semifinalists must submit a scholarship application that includes a strong academic record and an account of their participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, participation in school and community activities, employment and any honors or awards.